It has been more than a month that the people of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are demanding improved rights, representation, and socioeconomic development. And yet, muffled in the calls for liberty, is a low murmur uttered by people around the world who are concerned, and rightfully so, that today’s freedom fighters may be opening a sociopolitical Pandora’s Box, out of which will come a militant takeover by anti-democratic forces. The fear is that today’s rebels and protestors who are disorganized and well-meaning when it comes to changing the region’s leaders will create an opening to be exploited tomorrow by those who are better organized, power-obsessed, and who have nefarious intentions for those who do not fit their world view. It is really no surprise this turmoil is occurring. The world economy is struggling. Food prices are up. And the Middle East already is ranked the lowest on the global human development index. The conditions are ripe for serious change, but in which direction will that change occur and is there anything we, in the west, could do about it without appearing imperialist?

Let’s take a quiz to help us focus.

What to do?

A) Wring our hands and do nothing;

B) Make a lot of proclamations and threats about sanctions and reductions in financial exchanges that take some time to begin having an impact, while in the short term do nothing;

C) Bomb and shoot the heck out of people and infrastructure, then fly away and leave the locals to their own devices;

D) Bomb and shoot the heck out of people and infrastructure, then get stuck in their country for an unforeseen number of decades to come;

E) Come up with a strategic plan that actually speaks directly to the needs of the people on the street far better than any militant, anti-democratic force ever could do, so they see we are prepared to engage them constructively, and on their terms, as soon as “the day after” arrives.

You should know, by the way, that A-D are the options recently offered and discussed in international power circles while innocent people in the Middle East are massacred, friendly governments are threatened, and adversarial eyes watch from the shadows with their own plans for the region’s future. Meanwhile, the only viable answer, E, remains ignored.

Below are recommendations based upon best practices in socioeconomic development to assist President Obama maneuver the United States, and subsequently the rest of the west, into the new and improved MENA regional ally:

1. Speak directly to the people on the ground, explaining that we offer them the hand of friendship and cooperation, rather than waste any more time making proclamations about their leaders;

2. Make it very clear that the intentions of the United States and western nations, from now on, are to promote self-sufficiency in the people of the MENA region, and that, to that extent, we are at their service through the following methods (Points 3-10):

3. Offer to widen access to the vast resources in socioeconomic development that are found throughout the United States and other western nations to the people of the Middle East — our capital, technology, and best practices in human development (healthcare, education, public safety, etc.) — through training programs and financial exchanges to assist them rebuild their economies under democratic governance;

4. Offer to make all non-oil exports to the USA and Europe from MENA countries duty free to help them diversity their economies;

5. Send in members of MENA Diaspora communities now living in the west who will offer assistance organizing governmental changes along the following lines:

That MENA leaders empower their parliaments with more authority to enact the will of the people in their districts;

Create neighborhood advisory councils that function independently of government, made up of civilians (e.g. tribal elders, academics, etc.) who discuss methods to improve services and attract business to their areas, and who provide their insights directly to local mayors and governors;

The elected leaders of the neighborhood councils, the mayors, and the governors from all over the country should meet annually to elect, from among their ranks, a “kitchen cabinet” of advisors that, in turn, meets directly with the executive branch of government; MENA leaders and their official cabinets should meet with these kitchen cabinets quarterly for official consultations;

Promote laws that maintain equitable treatment for all people irrespective of their ethnic, tribal, or religious affiliation;

Facilitate modern community policing methods so that the police no longer act as a militia, and the people develop a friendly, trust-based relationship with local law enforcement;

Thus, by providing more power to parliament, improving citizen participation in local government through neighborhood councils, creating kitchen cabinets made up of local representatives that meet directly with the executive branch of government on a routine basis, ensuring equitable treatment before the law, and promoting good ties between the locals and cops, MENA governments will facilitate much greater direct participation in government by the people themselves;

6. Offer assistance through training programs to develop government agencies that engage socially disadvantaged groups through best practices in services and empowerment programs that focus on full integration into mainstream society, e.g., minorities, women, people with disabilities, etc. so that these services are not left up to aspects of the civilian sector run by militant organizations that may be hostile to democracy;

7. Create cross-cultural programs between the people of the MENA and people from western countries that focus on mutual sustainable community development programs because nothing overcomes competition better than does cooperation to accomplish a humanitarian goal;

8. Create youth entrepreneurship opportunities through international trade and infrastructure development to facilitate equitable exchanges between youth and young adults that result in mutual stakeholders in poverty-reducing programs;

9. Promote stronger ties between technological research centers at western universities and MENA universities with dual focuses on urban and agricultural development;

10. Maintain a strong military presence in the region to deter any semblance that the west has gone weak while we begin engaging the local population socioeconomically to build their independence in a healthy partnership with the west.

In addition, the people of the MENA region should:

1. Create a Middle East and North African Youth Regional Parliament, made up of elected representatives specifically to this grouping who are under the age of 40; that provides recommendations on democratic governance and regional policy, and present their findings bi-annually to a regional group of official parliamentary heads that includes all nations in the region irrespective of their diplomatic ties with each other;

2. Create the Middle East and North African Youth Regional Games, which would function as a mini-Olympics for youth throughout the region irrespective of politics. These games should have a Special Olympics component for people with developmental disabilities, and a Paralympics component for people with physical disabilities to promote humanitarian interaction between the countries.

Any nation that refuses to allow its youth or parliamentary heads to participate in these programs should be expelled from its political regional grouping at the United Nations via direct petition of the MENA Youth Parliament, which would effectively interrupt its ability to participate on the United Nations Security Council. It is also incumbent upon the Youth Parliament and Regional Games not to exclude or marginalize Israel or any one nation, but rather, to focus on improving the region collectively.

Altogether through these policies, the west and MENA countries, and the people from both areas, would promote a combined micro- and macro-approach to MENA development in partnership with each other without exploitation.

If these policies are enacted comprehensively, the end result will be improved living conditions for the diverse peoples of the Middle East and North Africa, increased regional peace and cooperation, enhanced relations between Middle Eastern and North African countries with each other and with the west, and a significant reduction in global militancy. These policies speak directly to the needs of the people without appearing to be a fair weather friend to regional allies by promoting workable democratic reforms; and implement methods that will keep Pandora’s Box of Militancy shut tightly — the best of all worlds.

Freedom and democracy are not just discussion topics. They have real meaning. People are dying in the chaos. Yet, unfortunately, time is not on our side. We must move beyond rhetoric and focus on results-driven policies… now.

PREVENT HATE is actively mobilizing against bullying through student-oriented solutions, creating programs and workshops for students and parents, offering practical solutions for our kids to be safe.

PREVENT HATE is also working with schools on creating student body patrols on campus to intervene against bullies, empowering their general student bodies to take a stand against bullying, and providing the kids with information about their legal and civil rights.

If you, or your child, is being victimized by a bully, it is important to determine whether any crimes are being committed. Talk to your local school and police department immediately with any concerns you have.
Every student has the RIGHT to attend school without worrying about violence, harassment, or intimidation. STOP BULLYING! Prevent hate.

What is BULLYING?

BULLYING: When a person intentionally inflicts harm or discomfort upon another person in order to gain power over them and force them into submission with mental or physical threats, name-calling and/or exclusion from social interaction, using methods such as gossip, defamation or the silent treatment, causing the victim to experience fear, anxiety, isolation and hopelessness.

What is CYBER-BULLYING?

CYBER-BULLYING: When someone is repeatedly tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, defamed, ridiculed or otherwise targeted by someone with the intent to extract power or to elevate themselves at the expense of someone else, using text messaging, email, instant messaging or any other type of digital technology.

Legal and Civil Rights

ASSAULT: Threatening someone with harm, including texting, and being able to carry it out.

BATTERY: Making physical contact in order to harm, harass, or intimidate someone.

EXTORTION: Demanding money, goods or services in order not to bully someone.

CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION: Bullying someone until they stop going to school, or have to change schools.

HATE CRIME: Bullying someone just because they are gay, or have a disability, or are a different race, ethnicity, or religion than you are.

Matt Rosenthal, PREVENT HATE’s president, will be a panelist on “Negotiations, Conflict Resolution & Peace Building Programs” at the 1st annual pan-African global trade conference, which will be held in Los Angeles on October 21-22, 2010. Amina Salum Ali, the
African Union Ambassador to the USA, will be the keynote speaker.

This first of its kind landmark event in California will provide
opportunities for conference participants to:
— Network with private and public sector leaders and
potential business partners from the U.S., Africa and the
African Diaspora in roundtable business panels and private
business meetings;
— Learn about current small business opportunities in
Africa’s emerging markets;
— Learn about current financing and investment programs for
international trade & commerce with Africa;
— Strengthen business and cultural relations between the
U.S., Africa and the African Diaspora through bilateral
business and economic development.

Ensuring peaceful coexistence is crucial to successful socioeconomic development. For more information on the conference, check out this flyer.

If a picture paints a thousand words, then a public demonstration paints millions. In just a few hours, we disproved many reasons for discrimination against people living with disabilities because we successfully demonstrated that when they are provided with adequate tools, training, and resources, they do contribute to their communities, including the workforce, productively.

Much thanks to the Veterans Affairs (VA) health center in Long Beach, CA for bringing vets with disabilities to build the house — all volunteers. They were awesome, worked hard, and showed that they are ready to conquer their obstacles and get back to work. In addition, here is a big THANK YOU to all of our sponsors, particularly SolarWorld, the event’s premier sponsor, who additionally provided solar panels for the program. For more information, here is SolarWorld’s press release.

Some of the specs about the house we built, which is an original design by PREVENT HATE’s training director, Barry Leneman, are as follows:

Low cost at $10.00 per square foot;

High strength compliance with UBC (Uniform Building Code) and IBC (International Building Code) for earthquake and hurricane;

Built rapidly with little to no waste;

Relocatable with minimal damage;

Well lighted and ventilated;

Ready for solar installation;

Eco-friendly materials;

Rapidly deployable;

Could be used during widespread emergencies, and/or to reduce homelessness, and/or to provide shelter during large infrastructure projects;

Easily constructed by people with disabilities;

Universally accessible and ADA-compliant;

Now available to be produced and used immediately anywhere in the world (contact us for inquiries).

This is how we prevent hate… through best practices in socioeconomic development. See for yourselves (and ignore the time stamps on the photos).

Getting started...

Barry Leneman, PREVENT HATE's training director, directing the vets.

Rapidly constructed

Los Angeles City Councilmember, Jan Perry, stopped by to check out the program and greet the vets

Constant teamwork builds houses and unity at the same time

The house is ADA-compliant and universally accessible to accommodate physical disabilities so that, even during widespread emergencies, the house will provide shelter to whomever needs it upon demand

New friends were made that day, and the vets felt extremely empowered by being of service to people who are disadvantaged other than themselves

I always say if we want peace in the Middle East to stand a chance we have to tell our politicians to back off, or better yet, Muslims and Jews would need to get together and tell the rest of the world to back off and let them make peace amongst themselves all on their own. Sure they can do it!

If you look back in history, whenever Muslims and Jews lived together in harmony, their combined forces, with knowledge, science and commerce made their communities thrive.
Sadly in our lifetime, it’s almost as if they are purposely being manipulated to be at odds with each other, living in constant turmoil and kept apart only to serve other people’s political and economic agendas.

Jewish businessman Robert Harush who grew up in Ashkelon spends fortune on renovation of large Muslim house of worship in Montereau, in effort to promote co-existence

An unlikely benefactor. An Ashkelon resident who made a fortune in the European real estate business has decided to pay for the construction of a mosque in France for the benefit of the local Muslim community.

Father of four Robert Harush, 58, grew up in Ashkelon and having completed his military service tried his luck in the real estate business in Europe. His success has won him many hotels and buildings and he is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of shekels.

(JTA) — A practicing Muslim and an Orthodox Jew have been chosen to run a New Jersey city.

Mohammed Hameeduddin was chosen last week by the Teaneck, N.J. township council to serve as mayor and Adam Gussen was chosen as deputy mayor. The sitting councilmen were appointed by the township council each for a two-year term.

The men attended middle school together in Teaneck and both attended Rutgers University, according to ABC News.

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010, PREVENT HATE brought one of our speakers to Canoga High School in Los Angeles, CA for a program to inspire youth away from hate and violence, and to open their minds to creative outlets for their frustrations.

Mr. Zuhdi Sardar, a brilliant artist from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, spoke for approximately 45 minutes to a large group of students about his experiences with institutionalized discrimination and intergroup violence under Saddam Hussein’s regime, as well as his determination to channel his anger into productive methods. Today, Zuhdi Sardar’s smile is irrepresible, as well as is the love for humanity that he exudes.

An ethnic minority in the Middle East, the Kurds have been subjected to systemic violations of their human rights by various political parties representing ethnic majorities in the region. Mr. Sardar’s story is one of hope and inspiration, explaining how the friendships he cultivated across ethnic lines saved his life at a time when nearly all his childhood friends were murdered by government forces. At the end of the program, he opened his portfolio and shared some of his art with the students. The swarm of youth that approached Mr. Sardar at the end of his speech was a strong testimony to his message and his ability to speak directly to the hearts of at-risk youth.

For more information on Zuhdi Sardar’s art, please visit zuhdisardar.com.

PREVENT HATE’s speakers bureau brings survivors of genocide and severe crimes against humanity to speak to students about overcoming their differences, rejecting violence, and making a productive contribution to society. Our speakers are role models who have been through the worst hellfire, and yet, celebrate life. As is always the case, at the end of the program, we were asked to come back.